Parties put peaceful Samba on the boil

As protests against the revocation of land allotment to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board continue to disrupt normal life...

As protests against the revocation of land allotment to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board continue to disrupt normal life in Jammu and adjoining areas, one incident in Samba on Friday highlights how the situation is being manipulated by interested political groups to keep the fire burning.

Till about a week back, Samba was relatively untouched by the continuing protests in Jammu, barely 40 km north. But on Friday, crowds numbering in thousands indulged in arson and looting, destroyed government property, and pelted stones at the residence of deputy commissioner of the district, all in the name of protest against the state Government’s decision to revoke its earlier order allotting 40 hectares of forest land to the Amarnath cave shrine for building temporary shelters to the pilgrims.

The situation turned so violent that the entire town has been placed under curfew since then and is likely to remain so for the next two to three days at least.

The sudden turnaround in the situation was a result of several provocative speeches made by political leaders who openly urged the crowds to destroy government property, vehicles and buildings.

Deputy Commissioner Saurabh Bhagat, who was holed up in his official residence along with his family for close to one-and-a-half hours by about 2,500 stone-pelting crowd, said incidents had started to take an ugly turn from July 29 when a truck carrying gas cylinders was torched by miscreants.

Even as the district administration allowed peaceful protests to take place, small crowds started indulging in looting and burning of state property. Some families bound for Vaishno Devi were also harassed and their vehicles damaged, Bhagat said. On July 30, nine trucks carrying apples were also looted.

On August 1, about 700-800 people had collected at the town centre even as the administration was negotiating with the moderate elements to lift a road blockade to ensure passage of trucks. Bhagat said the moderates agreed to allow military vehicles and trucks carrying perishable goods to travel but that angered the more extremist section of the crowd which went on the rampage.

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A force of just 40-50 CRPF personnel was hardly enough to control the crowd, especially when there were no orders to fire. There was a danger of some of these CRPF men being held hostage and their AK-56 rifles captured.

Tear gas shelling by the RAF prevented that from happening but the crowd did not calm down. It marched around the town, destroying and burning public property on its way.

Bhagat said there were no casualties in the mayhem. The town was returning to normal, he said. “Had it not for some highly inflammatory speeches, there would have been no trouble in Samba at all. Such acts are condemnable.”